


Goodbye Lupin

by author203



Category: Lupin III
Genre: Fun, Grief, One Shot, Red jacket i guess, Short One Shot, friends - Freeform, short and sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:14:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26783506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/author203/pseuds/author203
Summary: Goodbye Lupin (or not?)
Kudos: 9





	Goodbye Lupin

Jigen stared down at the stone etched with his partner's name.

_Here lies Arsene Lupin III._

He wondered again where it had come from. He hadn't bought it. Goemon probably wouldn't know where to purchase such a thing. Fujiko wouldn't have bothered. Pops, maybe; but probably not on his salary. 

It was the first warm day of spring - warm enough to have the sunroof open on the drive over - and the new life budding around him made him feel hollow. He was alone in the graveyard, still not quite sure if what was happening was really happening or if it was part of some wild scheme he wasn't in on quite yet. 

This was not the first time he had come here, and stared at the smooth rock, trying to sort out what was true and what was not. 

"Jigen?" Goemon's voice behind him.

"Don't sneak up on me. I've told you. Good way to get shot."

"Is it true?"

"Pops swears it is."

"How can we be sure?"

"We can't. How many times has he done something like this?"

Goemon considered. "At least seven that I'm sure of."

"Tck. And how many times did we know about it?" 

"Hmm. Only twice that I recall."

"Right."

"Where's Fujiko?" the samurai asked. 

"Who cares?" Jigen pulled out a cigarette, lit it. 

"Does she know?"

"You kidding? She probably did it for all we know."

"Unless she didn't."

"Yeah."

"What now?" the samurai asked softly.

"Wish I knew," the gunman answered. 

"Is he really gone then?" Zenigata asked from behind them. 

The two criminals flinched in surprise; Jigen had his hand on his gun, Goemon ready to draw his sword. 

"Put those away. I'm not here for that."

They relaxed slightly, but remained vigilant. "So he still hasn't shown himself?" the inspector asked. 

Jigen and Goemon looked at each other. Jigen pushed his hat brim up slightly, and raised an eyebrow. 

The three men stood looking at the grave in silence a while, Jigen puffing quietly on his cigarette. 

"How long has it been?" Zenigata asked. 

Jigen did a quick calculation. "Coming up on six months soon."

"Hmm. Has he ever been gone so long when he's done this?" 

Goemon spoke, "No."

Jigen gave a little nod to Goemon; then reached out quick as lightening to brace the ICPO agent in a headlock. "What's with the twenty questions Pops? You're the one who told me about it." 

Goemon yanked on Zenigata's sideburns as Jigen held him. He pulled so hard the skin ripped, and pulled away, but there was no blood. "Why do you keep doing this to us?" he demanded as flung the mask in the dirt.

"It gets harder every time," Jigen growled as he released Lupin and gave him a little shove toward the headstone. 

Lupin grinned with that stupid look on his face, looking completely unremorseful. 

"Do you know what you put us through?" Jigen snarled. 

"Had to guys. To protect you. And I'm not about to apologize for keeping you safe." 

"LUPIN!!" the real Zenigata was there now, coming toward them, the three criminals turned at his shout. "You're not dead!" The real inspector sounded quite offended that he had been deceived. 

"Oh hey, Pops! Did you miss me?"

Zenigata shouted, threw his handcuffs toward the thief. Lupin ducked and took off running, shrugging out of his disguise as he leapt over headstones, and dashed around trees. The inspector ran after him, leaving the gunman and the samurai standing there in the sunshine a little stunned, a lot relieved. 

Goemon was the first to speak. "So I guess this means things are back to normal."

Jigen turned his back on the grave that was not Lupin III's final resting place. "For now, I guess," Jigen agreed. They stood in silence a bit longer. "Want to eat?" He turned back, stubbed out his smoke on the tombstone, kicked a little dirt toward it in disgust.

"Sure."

They walked back to where Jigen had parked the Fiat, both half surprised Lupin hadn't taken it for his getaway. Neither really knew what to think or how to feel. Their friend was alive, and that was tremendous news. But he had deceived them - again - and that was something neither could get used to. 

"I can't keep this up," Jigen confessed as he started the car. 

"My desire for this also wanes." 

"You don't have to be so formal all the time."

Jigen was just about the pull into the street, when Lupin dove through the open sunroof shouting "Drive, Jigen, drive!"

And so he floored it, leaving the inspector in the dust - shaking his fist, screaming their names - all three of them laughing as they made another getaway. One of many more to come. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :) Comments welcome.


End file.
